278. The promoting effect of positive psychology intervention on the mental health of family business managers

Abstract Background Family business managers bear the dual pressure of intertwined business operations and family relationships, and their mental health not only affects personal well-being, but also relates to the intergenerational inheritance and stable development of the enterprise. Traditional mental health support often focuses on problem resolution and stress relief, but lacks the cultivation of managers' intrinsic strengths and positive psychological capital. Positive psychology focuses on individuals' strengths, resilience, and sense of meaning, and its intervention methods have empirical support in improving the happiness of the general population. However, empirical research on the systematic application of positive psychology principles to enhance the mental health of family business managers is still insufficient. Therefore, this study explores a targeted positive psychology intervention program to test its effectiveness in alleviating managers' psychological stress, enhancing their psychological resilience and life satisfaction, and providing evidence-based practical paths for improving the mental health of this group. Methods The study recruited 156 middle and senior managers from family businesses in different industries, who were randomly divided into an intervention group (n = 78) and a waiting control group (n = 78). The intervention group received a 6-week, weekly group positive psychology intervention. The control group did not receive any structured psychological intervention during the same period. Conduct three assessments before intervention (T0), at the end of intervention (T1), and 3 months after intervention (T2). The measurement tools include: Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 items (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Connor Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). Perform repeated measures ANOVA using SPSS 26.0 to compare the interaction effects between groups and time points. There is a significant statistical difference between the two (p<.05). Results At T0, there was no significant difference in various psychological indicators between the two groups (p>.05). At T1, repeated measures ANOVA showed significant interaction effects between group and time on anxiety, depression, psychological resilience, and life satisfaction (p<.01). Post hoc testing showed that the GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores of the intervention group were significantly lower than those of the control group (p<.001), while the CD-RISC and SWLS scores were significantly higher than those of the control group (p<.001). Specifically, the intervention group managers showed an average reduction of about 35% in anxiety and depression symptoms, an increase of about 28% in psychological resilience, and an increase of about 22% in life satisfaction. In the follow-up test of T2, the CD-RISC and SWLS scores of the intervention group were still significantly better than those of the control group (p<.01), and there was no significant decrease compared to T1 (p>.05). Discussion Research has shown that the systematic positive psychology intervention designed by the PERMA model can effectively alleviate anxiety and depression symptoms of family business managers, significantly improve their psychological resilience and life satisfaction, and maintain some positive effects after the intervention. From this, it can be seen that by focusing on cultivating strengths, meanings, and positive emotions, managers can be effectively empowered to help them manage and cope with the unique challenges brought by the integration of family and business roles, thereby improving overall mental health levels. Future research can validate its long-term effects in larger samples and longer tracking periods.